Best Games of 2009

Playing a Super Mario game is a comforting experience indeed. Nintendo knew exactly what it was doing when it created the Wii side-scrolling platformer: revisit the past 8 and 16-bit designs without overwhelming the emerging casual gamer, all the while retaining all the clever and creative elements that made the property so successful with the hardcore. Oh, and include multiplayer support so that observers and be participants. Well played, Nintendo. Well played.

This beautiful game has never been more beautiful, and it's certainly never been as convincingly portrayed as it has in EA Sports' FIFA 10. This is football told with glorious fidelity and served with unparalleled control, and not only does it eclipse its traditional rival Pro Evolution Soccer - it also makes a case for being one of the all-time great sports games.

Killzone 2 surpassed the hype of its visuals with an action packed cinematic invasion tale on the devastated planet of Helghan. From start to finish, the shooter pitted players against an extremely intelligent enemy that tactically fought to the death to repel you from their homeworld.

With Shadow Complex, Chair Entertainment finally pushed the Xbox Live Arcade in the direction we all hoped it would go. A new, beautiful, hardcore game at a relatively low price? And it's downloadable? Sign us up twice. If this is one of gaming's future paths, we welcome it.

Lifting elements from its classic fighting formula and mixing in just enough new mechanics to make a game that felt complete and new, Capcom managed to revitalize its biggest fighting franchise while still appealing to those who'd been away since the days of Street Fighter II arcade machines. With a great cast of characters, diverse move sets, and gorgeous graphics, it's one of the very best fighting games of the modern era.

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series had all the right pieces to set the bar once again for the FPS genre. Mixing a short (but sweet) single player campaign with one of the strongest multiplayer offerings out there Infinity Ward once again proved why the COD name has not only stood up against worthy competitors, but also the test of time.

Gearbox took its expertise with first-person shooters and blended it with Diablo-style loot mechanics to deliver a product comparable to few others. Though it certainly has flaws, the huge diversity of weapons to find, enemies to kill, and methods of upgrading each of the four character classes keep the experience interesting the whole way through... and then through again if you choose to max out character levels. Borderlands is easy to get into and tough to stop playing, especially if you've got some friends around to invite into your game.

Take Batman, toss in some awesome fight mechanics, a sprinkle of stealth, a mature tale, and all the voices you loved from the animated series - you get Batman: Arkham Asylum. You didn't get to drive the Batmobile, but you did get to take it to the Joker, Poison Ivy, and run around Arkham before delving into the game's hard-hitting challenge rooms.

While the first Assassin's Creed was met with mixed reviews, critics and gamers alike are unanimous when it comes to the sequel: Assassin's Creed 2 is an immensely entertaining open world adventure. Ubisoft paid careful attention to detail when creating this renaissance Italy killground, resulting in one of the biggest and most enthralling games of the year.

It seemed unlikely that Naughty Dog could develop an even better game than the original Uncharted, but the studio did so with flying colors. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was a virtually ideal sequel: it continued all the great traditions that Uncharted began and also implemented a full suite of multiplayer options. To call it a "must-buy" is an understatement.